


and i'm so high i can see an angel

by minycrds



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Crack, Drugs, Fr i didn't even try i just needed to get it out of my sistem, Love Confessions, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Team Bonding, Underage Smoking, unbetaed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25958437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minycrds/pseuds/minycrds
Summary: The one where Bokuto smokes weed with the Nekoma and Fukurodani boys and realises he's in love with Akaashi.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 5
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The plot came to me as I dramatically sang to June by Florence and the Machine and I have zero excuses nor do I need them. Unapologetically self-indulgent. I tagged this as Bokuto/Kuroo woops, sorry, I just edited it.

Bokuto had never been this happier in his  _ life _ . Akaashi disagreed, he’d seen him way happier than this at least a hundred times before but there was no convincing him otherwise. He had been so excited to add Karasuno to the powerhouses training with them, there was nothing that could’ve spoiled his mood and so contrary to Konoha’s belief, the days passed by quickly with Bokuto’s ego inflating with every spike Kuroo couldn’t block in their extra practice time. Bokuto was beaming and it was a good sign for what was to come. He felt on top of the world

The training camp had been a success and although he didn’t want it to end, Bokuto knew after it only better things would come like  _ actual real matches  _ where he could actually beat Kuroo and laugh at him from above the net. Nothing could compare to what he thought winning nationals with the current Fukurodani line-up would feel like.

All throughout the barbecue before everyone parted ways, Kuroo had been teasing a sort of grand finale for their training camp exclusive for his tightest friends and Bokuto was absolutely dying of curiosity, stomach twisting with the good kind of anxiety. Bokuto didn’t expect  _ weed  _ to be it. 

“Bro, we can’t smoke, we’re athletes,” he said, walking backwards towards the nice spot behind the gym and between a couple of trees they’d found up the hill during the barbecue, all the while facing Kuroo. 

“Bro, relax. It’s just once, plus it’s a reward for all the hard work,” Kuroo argued, holding the pink grinder in his right hand he’d stolen from his older cousin, “It’s not like I let my team smoke anyway,” he continued, walking with part of his and Bokuto’s team in tow. 

“Come on, Bokuto-san, you’re the adventurous one,” Konoha snickered from behind Kuroo, almost as a challenge, knowing Bokuto wouldn’t back up from it if only out of sheer pride. 

“Ok, just once, Konoha,” he surrendered, turning around with a frown. He continued walking up the hill, the sun hitting his eyes and warming him up even more. He wasn’t afraid of drugs but he didn’t want his team getting distracted with stuff like that before nationals. After all, they were minors and they could get in trouble if they were caught. If coach Takeyuki found out he’d be a dead man.

Once they were 5 minutes from the school grounds in the spot Kenma had discovered to hide from Kuroo and Tora’s continuous teasing, they sat together in a circle. Kenma was holding his DS in his hands, not really interested in whatever was going on around him, but staying close to Kuroo as he always did, resting his weight on the tallest’s side. Taketora and Kai sat on Kuroo’s right and immediately grabbed their phones and started arguing over the best playlist to smoke. 

Bokuto wondered where the rest of Nekoma were but he quickly realised if Lev was invited he would most likely tell Yaku and although Nekomata would only scowl them for it, Yaku would choke Kuroo on the spot.

Bokuto sat to Kuroo’s left, Akaashi, Konoha and Washio closing the circle to his right. The last three of them already deep in casual conversation while Bokuto stayed silent, appreciating the downtime. 

The sun was setting around them, the sky starting to bloom with different hues of pink and orange. Bokuto breathed in and relaxed, letting his head rest on Akaashi’s shoulder as he looked up at the sky and let the warm breeze wash over his wet hair. He’d just finished showering and changing when Kuroo caught him outside, wriggling his brows in a suggestive way with that devious grin of his. 

The sun hit his face and legs, enveloping in the most perfect light and warmth he’d felt during the entire week. His muscles hurt and once the compression shirt and knee pads were off, he felt at ease. He was used to being sweaty, sticky and too fucking hot. The summer was too humid to train at the rate he liked but he didn’t budge. He allowed himself to loosen up a bit after a while, letting himself be lulled into a state of complete relaxation by Akaashi’s soft voice. 

“Have you guys smoked before?” Akaashi inquired. Bokuto felt the vibration of his words on him. Of course Akaashi sounded cool about it even though it was obvious at least no one in his team had smoked before.

He heard Kuroo’s story of their first time smoking together with Tora and Kai, going over how they’d all felt okay and made sure to hide Kenma’s DS so at least someone would be attentive in case someone felt queasy. Kuroo made a point to tell everyone they didn’t need to smoke if they didn’t feel comfortable, Kenma didn’t smoke after all. 

Bokuto knew he was a  _ city boy _ , like Tanaka put it, but he didn’t know much about drugs. If anything, he was concerned about the effects and he wouldn’t be a victim of peer pressure, but he wanted to enjoy the moment as much as the rest of the guys and keep it as one of his best memories from Fukurodani’s volleyball club. Winning wasn’t everything to him, he liked the bonding, the friendly competition that bordered on murder sometimes and, after at least half his life playing volleyball, he appreciated the friends he’d made on the way more than anything. And it was his last year after all, the last chance he had to really take in his teammates’ and best friends’ company before things changed. 

Konoha’s voice interrupted his train of thought, “Who did you get the weed from?” he asked, sounding a tad bit worried of it being laced with whatever. Fukurodani Tokyo boys were different from Nekoma Tokyo boys, after all. They wore blazers to school,  _ god. _

“My older sister. It’s safe, promise,” Kai explained with an easy smile and Konoha nodded in understanding, looking less nervous now. 

The conversation moved to talk about the other teams they’d played during the weekend and he heard Kenma’s small voice only when Kuroo mentioned Hinata. He peered one eye open to look over at Kenma, whose head was now resting on Kuroo’s thighs as he focused on the game he was playing.

Suddenly he wasn’t so sure he wanted Kenma to be the only person  _ sort of _ taking care of them.

Bokuto looked up to the sky again, wondering if smoking would make him enjoy the sunset even more. Akaashi whispered something on his hair and Bokuto shivered in response before letting out a small hum, not even knowing what Akaashi’d asked.

Next to him, Kuroo finished rolling the blunt and apologised for the shitty job as Kai tried to tighten it a bit more before lighting it up. Next to Kenma and him, Tora settled on a playlist, blasting Charli XCX on his phone speaker and mouthing the lyrics to himself.

Bokuto smiled when he felt Akaashi humming next to him. 

Kai lit it with short puffs while he held the lighter to the end of the blunt. He was the first to take a long hit, then passing it to Tora who started coughing upon a small hit, but took another short puff before passing it to Kuroo, who offered it to Kenma out of good habit. Kenma stared with a frown and Kuroo giggled in response before taking three small puffs and passing it to Bokuto.

“How do I do this?” Bokuto asked, genuinely lost. He hadn’t even smoked cigarettes before because the upperclassmen on the team would’ve killed him. God, he felt like the worst captain ever. 

“Ok, so don’t put like i _ n _ it your mouth, you know?” Bokuto followed Kuroo’s instructions under his scrutiny. He didn’t move from Akaashi’s body but felt his stare on him as he attempted to smoke, “Take a small hit and bring the smoke into your lungs” Kuroo said, bringing his hand to Bokuto’s chest to feel him breathe deep, “And hold the smoke a little”.

Bokuto held the smoke in his lungs for like a second before he started coughing. His throat burned as he exhaled the smoke unintentionally and he felt Akaashi’s hand softly rubbing his back through the warm jersey. His back felt a bit tingly at the touch and he wondered if he was getting high already. 

He passed it to Akaashi next, reaching for the water bottle in the center of the circle to kill his cough. After Akaashi’s turn, he stole the water bottle from him as he coughed now and attempted to pass the blunt to Konoha with his other hand. Bokuto returned the gesture from before and rubbed at his back. 

They passed the blunt around until it was Bokuto’s turn again. The Fukurodani team was doing surprisingly well despite it being their first time smoking. Kuroo offered it to him, cocking an eyebrow at him to make sure he was still okay. He took two small puffs before passing it to Akaashi and then he felt it hit him. 

Akaashi’s shoulder and hand felt funny upon contact with his body and the sun made his skin feel so good. He let the light breeze numb his senses and for a second he was sure he couldn’t hear the others’ voices. Akaashi’s warmth felt so good. 

Indeed, he liked the sunset better when he was high, but apparently he liked everything better when he was high. He got lost in the pink clouds for a couple of minutes. The colour reminded him slightly of Akaashi’s blush and the way his face flushed a little during matches if he overexerted himself. He’d never felt so light in his life, but his blood felt scolding hot on his chest and face. He wondered if it was because of Akaashi’s touch. 

Kuroo’s cackling brought him back into the conversation, he was lost in Kenma’s DS screen and Kenma’s frown deepened in annoyance. Tora was on his phone again, struggling to find a song that felt right until Konoha took the phone from his hands and started quietly singing to the weirdest shit Bokuto had ever heard in his life. After approximately twenty seconds he realised it wasn’t weird shit and it was one of his favourite artists as well. He figured that was normal. 

He straightened his back, licked his lips and realised his entire mouth was numb. Next to him, Akaashi seemed to be deep in thought, picking at and playing with the grass. His eyebrows were drawn together, he rarely had that expression on his face, in fact, Bokuto had only seen it when they got together to study chemistry because Akaashi sucked at science despite being perfect. His mouth was slightly agape, lips glistening under the sunlight. His skin glowed with a sheen of sweat and he wore a very noticeable blush, probably because of the way the sun had been hitting his face for a while already. His hair had dried too in the least awkward way unlike Bokuto’s, black waves and curls gracefully framing his forehead and ears. 

“Akaashi, are you an angel?” Bokuto asked unprompted. He swallowed thickly once he realised he’d said it outloud but found himself unable to actually care despite Kuroo’s gasp, “If I die and go to heaven, I think angels will look like you”.

Akaashi turned towards him, his full attention on him now and Bokuto felt the silence settle around his body. He smiled at him and Bokuto felt like he was going blind for a fraction of a second. He felt a pang in his chest and melted at the sudden sound of Akaashi’s laughter, a sound he didn’t get to hear much. His eyes crinkled and his face settled on the most content expression Bokuto had ever seen in his life. He couldn’t breathe, not when Akaashi’s piercing eyes were on him, gazing lovingly into his own. 

“Well, Bokuto-san, now we’ve smoked weed we won’t be going to heaven, won’t we?” He replied, resuming his task over analysing the grass in front of him. 

Bokuto felt his stomach flip and twist and his entire body went numb at Akaashi’s beauty. God, when did he get so thirsty. 

He reached for the bottle of water in Konoha’s hand and gulped down a third of it. He felt a few drops of water escape his mouth and drip down his chin and neck, panicking a little when Akaashi giggled at his clumsiness. He wondered what it would feel like to kiss Akashi with his mouth feeling that funny. Shyly, he reached for Akaashi’s chin to turn him toward him, trying to memorise his features under the perfect lighting of golden hour and before he sobered up. Akaashi let him, leaning slightly into the touch. 

Bokuto felt like the world was disappearing around them, unable to hear Konoha and Washio joking and teasing them and Kuroo’s whispering. 

“No, but seriously, Akaashi you’re the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen,” Akaashi giggled at the compliment, “No, you’re like the prettiest person I’ve ever seen. Thank you for existing and allowing me to look at you, wow,” Bokuto finished, finally sort of snapping out of it under Konoha’s pointed look. 

He was grateful the jokes had died down and everyone else was focusing on other shit because the minute he realised what he’d done and said he felt a deep flush settle on his face, going down his neck and trickling into his bones. His hands itched to hold Akaashi’s. 

“Thanks, Bokuto-san. You’re handsome too,” Akaashi replied. His smile was still audible despite him looking down at his fingers now. 

“Dude, you’re so gay,” Kuroo complained next to him as his hands ran through Kenma’s hair, pausing only to scratch at his scalp every few seconds. Coming from him that was huge. 

It wasn’t that Bokuto didn’t exactly know he liked boys, it was more like he didn’t have time to like people that way, lost in volleyball and all that. He never really thought about relationships or being in love, he more or less relied on his friends and teammates’ support to get through things and since none of them were dating it just flew over his head he was about turn 18 and had never dated anyone or had serious feelings for anyone.

He’d stared a bit too much at a senpai’s thighs during practice in his first year but that was it when it came to crushes. In comparison to Kuroo’s description of being in love with Kenma, he felt a bit lacking. And sure, he thought about Akaashi’s arms and thighs a bit too much during practice and he spent a lot of time with him at school, practice and extra practice and sometimes even on weekends, but it was because they were best friends and no one understood him like Akaashi did. 

It was obvious that Akaashi was attractive and everyone around him knew it. He’d been confessed to by at least 5 people during his first year at school and Bokuto had been impressed because despite his quietness, he was so cool and beautiful people just noticed him wherever he was. Akaashi wasn’t only beautiful, intelligent, amazing and a talented setter and the bestest friend there was. Akaashi was also quite literally the prettiest person he’d laid his eyes upon in his entire life.

In a way, Akaashi balanced him out the same way Kenma did Kuroo. His chaotic energy settled quietly around Akaashi and he knew his loudness and excitement didn’t bother him, but he still kept him in check, making sure Bokuto didn’t overreact to things more than he already did. Akaashi was like a guardian angel, no, like a compass. No, like home.

The thought sobered him up immediately. 

After an hour or so the sun had completely set and it was time to go. They needed to help clean the gym before parting ways and officially closing the training camp. It was getting chillier outside by the time they entered the gym again. 

On their way to the station, Kuroo pulled him from Akaashi and Konoha’s company and dragged him to the very end of the street where Kenma was standing, DS in his hands. 

“Dude what the fuck was that?” Kuroo demanded with his hands resting on his hips. He looked like a huge version of his mum like that, “Akaashi and you were totally flirting back then, bro. Are you two like a thing?” He continued, almost as if he was scolding him for misbehaving. 

“Uh… No. We’re just best friends,” Bokuto explained, not so sure of his own words. Maybe smoking weed had been a mistake. 

“Dude, no. You and I are best friends, you and Akaashi are like Kenma and I without the fucking,” he exclaimed, defiantly. Bokuto found himself unable to look at him and so he stared at Kenma for a few silent seconds; however, it was obvious his expression was betraying him when Kenma spoke up.

“Don’t look at me like that. Kuroo may not be that perceptive but he’s right,” he declared, now staring back at Bokuto. God, those cat-like golden eyes made him feel so small despite his height. 

“Are you into him?” Kuroo asked, pressuring him to speak up. Bokuto could only press his lips into a tight line as his brain attempted to come up with the right answer. Kuroo sighed and shook his head, “Bro, are you in love with Akaashi?” Kuroo said in exasperation.

Bokuto felt his stomach twist again and his heart jump into his throat. 

“Okay, like, maybe? Maybe it was the weed but have you seen him? He’s like the prettiest person ever,” Bokuto said, trying to reason with Kuroo. Yeah, that part was pretty clear to him according to Kuroo’s expression.

“Ohoho, you’re fucked, Bokuto,” he retorted, patting him on the shoulder and softly pushing him to encourage him to keep walking, “You are so fucked”. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bokuto calling Akaashi pretty boy is my favourite thing in the world, I'll keep it up. This is a two part fic and I'll update it as soon as I'm done with it so please wait for it. I hope you guys enjoyed this cos narrating people smoking weed in a second language is hard and don't listen to Bokuto's excuses for underage smoking. Comments are much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

It had to be a crush. That’s the only way it all made sense. From the very beginning he had been interested in Akaashi, impressed by his seemingly natural talents, his attitude and the way he held himself. The sound of his voice was soothing, he knew how to keep him calm and focused and Bokuto was so happy he’d finally befriended someone as freaking cool as Akaashi Keiji. 

It had to be a friend crush. But they quickly became best friends, knowing everything there was to know about one another both on and off the court and Bokuto didn’t stop feeling like his chest tightened every time he made Akaashi snort or smile. It had to be a simple crush. He could get over it if he ignored it. He’d graduate and forget all about these silly feelings he had for no one other than Akaashi Keiji.

And god, were those feelings intense. Most times he wanted to cry tears of joy because amazing, beautiful, talented and intelligent Akaashi Keiji was his best friend,  _ what? _ And Akaashi had to remind him that he himself was freaking Bokuto Koutarou.

He knew smoking was a terrible idea and in a way it was his downfall.

After he was hit with the fact that he was in love with Akaashi, Bokuto’s performance declined steadily. From the very beginning Akaashi had joined the club he’d been distracted by him, but after becoming the starting setter of the team, Akaashi learnt to manage him like he managed the court and their rivals. 

He was getting distracted by the way he stood gracefully with his hands resting against the small of his back when he was overthinking, the way he positioned his hands and fingers preparing for a toss, the way he peered at him before tossing the ball towards him, the way he encouraged him to spike with all his strength just by saying “Bokuto-san” in the calmest tone despite his volume going up. It wasn’t like Bokuto hadn’t noticed those things before. In fact, he knew he’d always been hyper aware of every single one of Akaashi’s movements both in and out of the court. It was mostly because their relationship as setter and spiker required it, but his awareness bled even into their daily lives. 

Bokuto knew exactly how Akaashi ate his lunch, selecting and separating bites the way he liked in order to enjoy his favourite thing last. He knew exactly what part of his lunch Akaashi was looking forward to stealing from him and he always let him. Throughout their friendship Bokuto had memorised the smallest details of Akaashi’s behaviour only to accommodate him as much as he could, almost as a silent apology for having to put up with his mood swings and his constant babbling and pouting. 

And yes, Akaashi was beautiful. So beautiful there were some moments where Bokuto couldn’t stop staring, almost open mouthed at the way his barely there smile appeared as Bokuto attempted to tell a funny story. It happened during class breaks, on their ride home when Konoha blurted out a dirty joke and Akaashi blushed and held his laughter thinking it was probably rude to laugh, during matches when Bokuto  _ finally _ scored after a while, during practice when he straightened his back before jumping to toss the ball frowning in deep concentration and during their study sessions when he chewed on the pen, deep in thought.

Bokuto always let out a small, quiet and long, “ _ Akaashi” _ as if to bring himself back to Earth but those deep gunmetal blue eyes always made his stomach jump and twist in the strangest way. Yes, he was deeply in love with his best friend, there was no denying it. 

And then he lost it. Akaashi called for him after sending a particularly perfect toss his way and Bokuto’s heart seemed to clench in his chest at the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes. His posture was lackluster when he jumped to hit the ball and before the momentum was gone, Konoha was scolding him for being unfocused. 

Bokuto landed on his ass with a loud thump and he cried out in pain before everyone but Akaashi exploded in laughter. He wasn’t amused by the looks of it. 

“Focus on me for the next one, Bokuto-san,” he said from the far right side of the court as Bokuto stared at him, feeling tiny and clumsy. Akaashi walked towards him, trainers squeaking as he moved and Bokuto stayed on the floor, sitting on his ass and looking at him with wide eyes. Akaashi helped him up and Bokuto held onto his hand like a lifeline. 

As if he was able to pay attention to  _ anything  _ else. 

“We should uh… Keep going,” Sarukui offered, sounding slightly nervous as he broke the moment Bokuto and Akaashi seemed to be having. 

Komi yelled and laughed from the other side of the court but Bokuto couldn’t quite catch it. He felt as if he was underwater and Akaashi’s touch and stare were downright burning him as the seconds passed. 

“Konoha, stop laughing,” Coach Takeyuki yelled, killing the moment automatically. Konoha choked on his laugh and blushed as he stepped back into his position leaving Sarukui blushing a deep red next to him for being scolded. Onaga whispered something to him and cleared his throat, “What are you doing? Come on, guys! Pick up the rhythm! We can’t be stuck in this forever,” Takeyuki continued. 

“I think Bokuto’s broken,” Sarukui pointed out, still chuckling under the coach’s stare. 

“He’s been malfunctioning quite a bit lately,” Konoha prompted, trying to hide his chuckle. 

“I’m good, I’m good. Sorry guys”.

He had hoped his feelings would die down one way or another. If he had been in love with Akaashi for more than a year without knowing maybe he could become blissfully unaware of Akaashi again. He tried his very hardest not to stare at the way Akaashi picked at the skin of his fingers, ate his sandwich, stole Bokuto’s juice box, undressed in the club room and always tucked his shirt in and buttoned his blazer looking sharp even in that boring ass uniform. God, god, god, he had to stop. He was failing and Akaashi was noticing. 

“Bokuto-san, you’re underperforming,” Akaashi offered after a particularly bad extra two-on-two practice.

“Am not,” he said to defend himself from the accusation, although he knew Akaashi was right. How could he focus on scoring when all he could think about was along the lines of  _ wow, we have such great chemistry _ . Except it wasn’t showing, because Komi and Sarukui had managed to steal at least six extra points out of them by the end of the afternoon. 

“What’s gotten into you, Bo? Owl ate your tongue?” Sarukui joked and Bokuto blushed in response. 

“I’m sorry, I’m just tired,” he said as an excuse. That didn’t work on his team but nothing ever worked on them because Bokuto Koutarou was a bad liar. 

They were wrapping up their extra practice, cleaning the gym floor and picking up the stray balls when Sarukui pushed Komi out of the gym saying something about a test they had to study for together so they had to go home real quick despite Bokuto knowing it was a lie. 

“Bokuto-san, if there’s anything bothering you, you know you can tell me, right? I trust you and I hope you trust me as well,” Akaashi stated, picking up his water bottle as he did so. He avoided Bokuto’s eyes but Bokuto knew he meant it, “I’m your vice captain after all”. 

Akaashi should’ve been mad at him. He should’ve been tired of him and having to constantly baby him.1 He wasn’t like that, though, Bokuto knew that for sure. 

But maybe if Bokuto focused enough on the rest of their volleyball season and prioritised things, maybe, just maybe he would be able to forget his  _ crush _ and move on. Kuroo wasn’t fond of the idea, having been himself victim of the same conundrum the year before with Kenma. What he and Kenma had was different and despite Kuroo pointing out Akaashi did constantly flirt with him, Bokuto wasn’t so convinced it was a good idea to ruin their dynamic before nationals. 

“So, there is something actually,” he started nervously. He took a deep breath, felt his stomach twist in impossible knots and his throat dry, “I think I…” he continued, voice barely there, sounding almost like a whisper, “You should practice your serves a bit more” Bokuto finished, swallowing thickly and resting his hands on his hips awkwardly. 

“Oh? Are they that bad?” Akaashi asked almost with guilt, a tinge of honest curiosity in his eyes.

“No, no. You should focus a bit more on the rotation of the ball, there’s a lot of potential in the way you hit the ball, you know? They could be nastier,” he replied grasping onto the first thing that came to mind. Sure, Akaashi’s serves weren’t like his but they were quite nasty already. 

“Show me next time, then, Bokuto-san”. 

Bokuto had a hard time sleeping that night, thoughts focusing on his memories of Akaashi’s serves. He was familiar with the sting and bruising that followed but he imagined himself massaging his fingers, palms and wrists, making sure he hadn’t hurt himself. He wondered how Akaashi would react to his touch, if he’d say something, if he’d stop him or tell him to keep going. Sure, Bokuto was a hugger but he’d never really touched Akaashi like  _ that _ , in such an intimate way that needed extreme focus and care from his part. He wondered if that would come naturally to him, only because it was Akaashi, or if he’d have to google it beforehand.

Bokuto ignored it. He bit down the feeling and swallowed it whole, choking on the way it seemed to want to crawl out of his mouth. He cleared his throat to get rid of the remnants of emotions on their way down and kept going. It felt sorta like swallowing his own vomit once it’d made its way up, but there was no alternative. 

Akaashi had started practising his serves and asking everyone for advice. Konoha had already corrected his posture and Washio had given him advice on how to control rotation, but when it came to Bokuto, they’d just stared at one another silently. Akaashi trusted him so much he took his sincerity for granted, so he kept at it until he felt good enough, until he was good enough. Ah, that was totally an Akaashi Keiji thing to worry about and he should’ve known if he planted the seed of such worry in his mind, there was no stopping it. 

Practising serves also meant extra practice wasn’t only dedicated to spikes and tosses. Akaashi had questions, asked for advice and reached for Bokuto constantly to show him. Bokuto tried his best to act as a reference point and gave him names of players and matches he could look up if he was interested in a specific type of serve. Bokuto was suddenly  _ very _ aware he was responsible for this specific worry and he hated it. 

On the second week of Akaashi’s insistent serve practice, after seeing him stress over the rotation of one ball that hit just outside the court and bite his lower lip to nothing he’d had enough. He had no one to blame but himself. 

“Ok,” he said, positioning himself next to Akaashi after handing him a ball, “You’re too tense, relax a little. Left shoulder a bit forward,” he continued, helping him ease into the pace again. Akaashi knew how to serve, but the extra help relaxing was still appreciated. Bokuto reached for his lower back with one hand and between his shoulders blades with the other to correct his posture, “Ok, that’s better”. 

This time the ball landed exactly where Akaashi wanted it to, but instead of looking satisfied his face was still almost scrunched up with dissatisfaction. 

“Come on, Akaashi. What’s gotten into you? You’re amazing”.

“Well, you brought it up, so…” Akaashi started, hands on his hips and looking more irritated than anxious for once, “Now I’ve learnt  _ again  _ how to serve correctly, will you teach me how to make it  _ nastier _ ?” he asked, almost smirking as he emphasised on just the right words. 

Bokuto swallowed thickly and nodded, dumbstruck. 

“Ok, pack it up, Bokuto, Akaashi. There’s a thunderstorm coming, go home early for once,” Coach Takeyuki’s deep voice came from outside the gym.

So they’ve heard earlier, as the rest of the third years were abandoning them earlier than usual, leaving them alone in the gym despite Bokuto’s panicked look. Yeah he’d been trying to swallow his feelings down but Akaashi’s bluntness was sharp like a knife if allowed and Bokuto wasn’t exactly the most eloquent when they were alone in such circumstances. 

“Yes, sir,” Akaashi replied before Bokuto could complain, staring at him. 

They tidied and cleaned the side of the gym they’d been using in less than fifteen minutes, changed and started their way to the train station. 

The storm had been brewing all day, it was dark outside and they’d be lucky if they weren’t caught under the rain before both of them made it home. Plus, Bokuto, as usual, had forgotten his umbrella  _ somewhere _ .

They walked pressed shoulder to shoulder, Bokuto mumbling something in the tiniest voice possible so as not to break the atmosphere. The streets were almost empty and it smelled of rain already. Akaashi kept trying to power walk their way to the train station, but Bokuto got distracted too many times by stray cats and graffitis and gardens and shops and﹘

_ Bokuto-san, please.  _

He apologised for making Akaashi wait for him in the cold yet again. He wondered if he was maybe too tired or if he simply wanted to get home. What if the  _ incident  _ during practice was really taking a toll on him, what if he hated him now. No, no, no, Bokuto, calm down. 

The train ride was quiet. Akaashi closed his eyes and leaned his head on Bokuto’s shoulder to rest as the train emptied. They were supposed to be watching something on Bokuto’s phone and Akaashi only reacted when the characters cracked a joke, despite only hearing it from the earphones they were sharing. 

When they arrived at their stop, Akaashi so kindly offered to share his umbrella and Bokuto couldn’t say no, so he held it between them as a silent thanks to Akaashi. It had started raining during the train ride but it was still gentle enough that they could walk the rest of the way. 

Bokuto found himself craving Akaashi’s closeness not for the first time on their way home. He wished Akaashi would just reach for the umbrella and their hands would find one another’s naturally. He wanted to stop and kiss him softly just to see what he’d say and how he’d react.

“Bokuto-san, are you alright?” Akaashi asked and bit his lower lip, giving Bokuto the impression that he was either anxious or deep in thought, probably thinking of a thousand possibilities just to figure out what could be going through Bokuto’s mind, “You’ve been awfully quiet”. 

Bokuto wasn’t sure what to say. Lately he found himself getting more and more lost in the moments he shared with Akaashi and he treasured them so much, given it was his last year, that he reflected upon every little second of their walk. 

“It’s just nice. I’m reminiss﹘… reminiscing,” he finished, smiling proudly and turning towards Akaashi to show it, “Did I use that right?” he asked, seeking Akaashi’s approval as he always did, one way or another. 

“Yes, you did. What were you thinking about?” 

“Us,” Bokuto started, “I mean… the team. We’re doing well,” he blurted out, unsure of himself. Yeah, he was definitely struggling to keep it buried and forgotten. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard, but Akaashi’s honest look and open expression made it so hard to just shut his mouth. 

Whenever they were alone, Bokuto had this sudden urge to ramble on, knowing Akaashi would listen and interrupt him if he wanted to speak, but this time it felt different. There was something almost magical in the moment they were sharing. The streets were empty, the sky looked impossibly dark and angry, the only noise coming from the water droplets bouncing off of the umbrella they were sharing and the distant cars. The pitter patter set a rhythm that Bokuto had unconsciously started following in his steps, pulling Akaashi closer towards him under the umbrella, quicklier and quicklier as they approached the turn where they separated, almost asking for Akaashi to stop him. 

“Keep it,” Akaashi said once they reached the corner of the street where they usually stopped to pet a calico cat during the sunny days, crouching and dirtying their uniforms only to play with the fluffy little thing. He gently wrapped his fingers around Bokuto’s on the handle and squeezed softly before turning around and disappearing under the rain, jogging for the couple of blocks he had left before making it home.

Bokuto felt his skin burn and tingle at the same time, almost as if he’d just spiked a ball with all his strength. How romantic. 

**to Kuroo:**

from 1 to 10 how much do u think akaashi flirts w me ΣΣ(ﾟДﾟ;)

**from Kuroo:**

like 100

why

what did u do now

**to Kuroo:**

do u think he’s into me? like a little maybe (゜Д゜;)

**from Kuroo:**

dude he stays w u on extra practice every day 

he literally knows u ALMOST as well as i do

**to Kuroo:**

maybe hes a real good friend???

**from Kuroo:**

what happened??

**to Kuroo:**

he gave me his umbrella today

and we kinda held hands but not 

he like touched my hand

it was weird but cute 

what do i do 

༼ ༎ຶ ෴ ༎ຶ༽

(இ﹏இ`｡)

**from Kuroo:**

kiss him u dumbass

Bokuto sighed to himself and threw the phone onto the mattress. He’d been sitting on his bed hugging his knees in front of him for half an hour, scrolling down his and Akaashi’s chat as if hoping he’d make Akaashi message him by thinking real hard about it. He’d taken a long bath after getting home, despite not having really gotten wet from the thunderstorm, which had started just minutes after he’d stepped into the genkan. He grabbed the phone again. 

**to Konoha:**

do u think akaashi likes me?

**from Konoha:**

wym 

oc he does

**to Konoha:**

but like

Likes me ༼ಢ_ಢ༽

**from Konoha:**

well u r rly obvious so if he wasn’t into u then hed prolly already rejected u or sth

**to Konoha:**

what if he doesnt and i fuck up n ruin our friendship (ಥ﹏ಥ)

**from Konoha:**

dude the first years thought u were dating for like six months 

even i started to think so 

u ll b fine akaashis mature like that

**to Konoha:**

ok so hell politely reject me is that what ure sayin

**from Konoha:**

trust me he won’t

They weren’t supposed to cheer him on, but he guessed that was the way things worked usually, except with Akaashi, who actually took the time to talk some sense into him whenever he deemed it necessary. God, Akaashi.

The next day before practice Bokuto walked in by himself into the clubroom. He said hello to everyone and headed towards Akaashi who was changing. They were talking about Konoha’s next English test, so he avoided intruding and stayed silent for a minute, which wasn’t hard to do with Akaashi changing next to him. He tried his best not to look but it was damn hard when Akaashi looked that cute in that t-shirt that matched his eyes perfectly and when he smiled at Onaga’s retort he felt like he lost it yet again. 

“We’re heading to the gym,” Konoha sais, dragging the rest of the team along with him, “Akaashi, stay here and make sure Bokuto doesn’t get distracted,” he ordered, directing an almost cocky smile to Bokuto, and Akaashi only nodded in response. He swallowed, feeling his knees weak and his heart beat so fast he thought he could feel the rest of his body rocking in tandem.

He turned towards Akaashi, who was too busy folding his clothes now. Bokuto’s clothes were bunched messily and thrown into his bag without care. 

“Akaashi, do you like me?” he asked almost in a mumble, looking down at the floor pretending he was looking for his shoes. 

“Why? Of course I do,” Akaashi replied easily, still focused on folding his shirt just the right way. 

“Of course you do. Of course you do,” Bokuto repeated, crouching down, eyes intent on his shoelaces. Akaashi let out something akin to a snort before offering his hand for Bokuto to take, despite him not being ready yet. It was almost metaphorical, the way Akaashi was always there willing to fall into Bokuto’s rhythm instead of forcing him into his. 

Practice was unexpectedly easy after their coach left them to it. They focused on their strengths rather than their witnesses, trying to build up that momentum they needed to find their trust in their teammates and their abilities before nationals. It went like this: Bokuto didn’t need pats on the back, he didn’t hide under tables or behind someone’s back pouting and crying out like a child. He was proud and strong and his teammates found comfort in the power behind his spikes, he hyped everyone up and told them how proud he was of them and if his hand lingered on Akaashi’s back a little too long, well that was just the yearning. 

Everyone but Bokuto and Akaashi stayed behind under Coach Takeyuki’s heavy stare.  _ Go home, rest _ . His eyes said and Bokuto swore he’d listen if he was blessed with one toss more from Akaashi. 

They left ten minutes later, apparently forgotten by their peers and making their way home unusually early to their standards. The sun was setting around them and Bokuto felt like that could be what they call bliss if the heavy feeling of that being one of the last times Akaashi would be his setter wasn’t in the back of his mind constantly.

Akaashi waved goodbye from the middle of the street, turning around and mouthing something he couldn’t quite catch. That would’ve been stranger if three blocks before they hadn’t stopped to examine a garden and discuss what their favourite colors in the sky were respectively. That would’ve been stranger if Bokuto hadn’t perched his head on Akaashi’s shoulder from behind as they crouched down to inspect the flowers. That would’ve been incredibly weird _if and_ _only if_ five minutes before Bokuto hadn’t gifted him a flower he’d unceremoniously ripped from the garden and made Akaashi chuckle and blush, their hands lingering as he received the gift. 

**to Akaashi:**

ok but do u like Like me (‘-’*)

**from Akaashi:**

yes i thought that much was clear

**to Akaashi:**

wym akaaaaashiiii 

it wasnt to MEEEE

( ￣＾￣)

ok but when did u know (｡-∀-)

**from Akaashi:**

well i just did

**to Akaashi:**

(•ﾟдﾟ•)

**from Akaashi:**

what did u call me then? lmao

an angel???

**to Akaashi:**

akaashiiiiii 

dont laugh

u r rly pretty

(#｀皿´)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so i owed you guys this much despite the fact it took me more than a month to finish this lol. im gonna be honest this wasn't the ending i wanted but!! i have so many other fics im working on i just let it write itself and i just hope you enjoyed this?? as the tags say, this was supposed to be a crackfic mostly but im glad it led to whatever the second part ended up being lol. my fav hc is that akaashi flirts with bokuto as much as he can but bokuto is too oblivious to realise and he asks everyone if akaashi likes him and everyone is like YES PLEASE make it stop!!! 
> 
> anyway comments are much appreciated, thx

**Author's Note:**

> Bokuto calling Akaashi pretty boy is my favourite thing in the world, I'll keep it up. This is a two part fic and I'll update it as soon as I'm done with it so please wait for it. I hope you guys enjoyed this cos narrating people smoking weed in a second language is hard and don't listen to Bokuto's excuses for underage smoking. Comments are much appreciated!


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